May 2017

Written by Johanna Cunningham
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03 May 2017

There are a few things that are true when it comes to legislation—it is always a moving target, you never know what will pass until the vote is taken and the most important thing of all is that YOUR voices count. Each and every one of your voices counted. Case in point is AB 1506, the bill that would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Act. This is a perfect example of our industry, along with the Realtors, CalRHA and all of our California partners making sure that the message regarding the oppo sition to this bill was heard. Now, this certainly does not mean that the fight is over, not by a long shot, and we will certainly see this effort again next year. So while we can take a breath that this bill was pulled for this year, let’s also take time to thank those who helped in this effort. But stay tuned—part two is still to come.

I also want to acknowledge the following members for taking their own time to attend and participate in our Sacramento Legislative visits in early April: Gary DeLong (VP and Chairperson for Statewide Legislative Committee), Steve Schiro, Curt Knabe, Keith Kennedy, Malcolm Bennett and Elaine Hutchison. Along with our other California partners, we had over 100 members who lobbied on behalf of the rental housing industry—THANK YOU!

I also want to thank Ron Kingston, our AACSC State Lobbyist, who organized and made all of our appointments, created the leave behind documents for our Legislators and provided us with the important facts and talking points to address at our meet ings. AACSC was professional and prepared — thank you Ron for making us look good.

In other news, AACSC showed support at the April 4th Long Beach City Council meeting and to Vice Mayor Rex Richardson as he proposed a few considerations to help landlords/owners who accept Section 8 Housing Vouchers. There is still work to be done on what that will ultimately look like, but AACSC was brought in to the discussion and provided much needed input and background regarding the issues that have long stifled the program. Working together we hope that we can come to some agreement on how we can work to make the program better, and we have worked hard to establish these relationships.

In a final note I want to thank all of our golfers and members who attended our 11th Annual AACSC Golf Classic. With Interval House as our charity of choice, it is always a great day on the links and a great dinner to end the day. Our vendors, golfers and members have supported this event, and each year it just gets better and better. So, hope you all had a “birdie” kind of day, were able to stay away from the “bogey”-man, and that you enjoyed the view along the way. See you next month.